Bay Area gun show draws record crowd, odd items, colorful characters

DALY CITY -- It was no secret why a record number of people crowded into a gun show Saturday on the border of the nation's most liberal city: All you had to do was ask almost anyone there.

"There's a lot of fear," said Gary O'Connor, 64, of Santa Rosa, as he oversaw a booth of ammunition sales. "Never seen anything quite like it."

Fear that President Barack Obama -- so despised by many of the attendees that they referred to him only as "he" -- and Congress will take away their gun rights, particularly as Vice President Joe Biden prepares to unveil new gun control proposals Tuesday in the wake of last month's massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

There was also the fear among some that mobs of criminals could soon take up arms and begin looting homes and businesses.

Sure, among the thousands of people attending the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Cow Palace in Daly City, there were plenty of conservatives wearing camouflage hats and touting rifles. But there were also many women buying stun guns and parents pushing kids in strollers. Children younger than 12 got in free, and one young boy who walked out proclaimed his love for the show by exclaiming "how fun!"

There were even some of the left-leaning folks the Bay Area is famous for.

That included San Jose resident Steve Cozens, a self-described liberal who had plenty of skateboarding gear, including the Vans shoes he wore as he walked out with a pack of bullets for the two rifles he's building.

"If there's a mob of 50 people coming down the street, and they've just burned five or six houses, I'm not going to wait for them to come to my house," said Cozens, a 50-year-old father who recently overcame his "intimidation" of guns and now thinks his Second Amendment rights are in danger.

One older gentleman in a baseball cap, when asked why so many people showed up, said: "So they could get ammunition for the war!"

He then laughed maniacally and walked away.

There was plenty to see inside the gun show, which cost $12 to get in and continues Sunday.

First, the merchandise. In addition to your standard guns and bullets, on display were laser-sight scopes, samurai swords, leather holsters, something called a "3-day assault pack," Nazi war helmets and a "powerful mini crossbow."

And the accessories: On sale were a "monster under the bed" kit that apparently is meant as a storage safe for your gun that slides under your bed. There were doll-like human targets, including one that looked suspiciously like Obama. You could get custom-made earplugs made next to a booth that sold Glenn Beck books.

Then there were signs like the one that said "Caution: Beatings to occur around the clock," along with a stick figure bleeding from the head as he gets walloped with a baseball bat. Or signs pointing people to classes where they could learn how to carry concealed weapons in certain states or receive "fair warning" training or gun safety certificates.

Some people bought so much ammo they had to carry it out in dollies or stop to take a rest on the way to the parking lot.

But it wasn't all violent stuff. One man was selling pictures with poem lyrics, including a poem from Willie Nelson titled "The Penis Poem," on sale for $4.99. One woman was selling pillows.

The prices for guns ranged from several hundred dollars to more than $2,000, knives as much as $300, 1,000 .45 GAP rounds for $165, and a special for a $69.99 "assault case" that came with a free shooting mat.

There were predictions of minor protests on each side of the gun debate, though it didn't stop the flow of commerce or the National Rifle Association from setting up a booth to sign up new members. And signs informing people not to sell guns outside in the parking lot, along with a police presence, seemed to deter unlawful gun sales.

The consensus from organizers and attendees was that there had never been so many people at a Cow Palace gun show, with dozens of people lined up before dawn. O'Connor said he sold 30,000 gun primers, which cost $30 for a pack of 1,000, in the first hour.

"Very unusual," Gordon "The Knife Guy" Daniel, from Napa, said of the crowds. "They're panicking because they don't know what's going to happen" to their ability to buy certain weapons.